Harald
Harald "Finehair" is a Scandinavian warlord and king. He was a threat for Ragnar before his death. His dream is to become King of all Norway. He is currently married to Astrid. Biography Early life Hailing from the Yngling clan, descending from king Ingjald of Svealand and Olof the Woodcarver, Harald was born in a place called Tamdrup. When he was a young man, he fell in love with a princess named Ellisif. Getting rejected for not being important enough, Harald decided to make himself king of all of Norway to get her affection. Season 4 In Yol, King Harald arrives in Kattegat to meet Ragnar after hearing of his exploits in the conquest of Paris. He wants to participate in the next raid in Frankia and announces that soon his brother Halfdan "The Black" will come with his fleet. He becomes familiar with Ragnar's young sons. In What Might Have Been, Harald and his brother lead an ambush on the Frankish scouts and capture many of them. Later they take several of the captives and tie them to the Franks signal fires. As the men are burned alive, Harald and the other warriors cheer and praise Odin. When the Vikings travel upriver towards Paris, the ships are shot at from the forts by Frankish soldiers, led by Rollo. When the Franks lower the chain between the two forts, Harald's ship is capsized and sunken. Harald and his brother swim to Ragnar's ship, where they defend against the Frankish assault. In Death All 'Round, Harald and Halfdan lead a raid on a small Frankish farm. They discover a family inside, and brutally kill them all, after raping the two daughters. They burn the farm afterward. Harald and the other Vikings battle the Franks head-on in The Last Ship, in open combat on the river. Harald fights alongside his brother and is outraged when Halfdan is shot by a Frankish crossbowman. Harald is last seen retreating with the Viking fleet after a crushing defeat by the Franks. In the years following the defeat at the Second Siege of Paris, king Harald conquered the kingdom of Rogaland, killing king Arnarson and his earl Eyolf. He also defeated King Svein from an unspecified Norwegian kingdom. Harald joins Bjorn in his expedition to the Mediterranean sea and assures Bjorn he has no intention of conquering Kattegat. When Bjorn seeks a truce with his uncle Rollo, Harald is captured along with the other Norse leaders. He questions Bjorn's judgment in trusting Rollo. Eventually, they are released when Bjorn agrees to allow Rollo to join the expedition. As the expedition runs short on fresh water and food, Harald privately questions Bjorn's leadership and suggests he might be cursed, like he considers Ragnar. He relents to Halfdan and brings up that their overthrow of the Lothbroks is inevitable in his quest to become king of Norway. Eventually, the fleet comes upon Algeciras and sacks the city. Floki prevents Harald and Halfdan from murdering praying Muslims: Harald directly stops his brother from entering a conflict with Floki. As the fleet returns to Scandinavia, Halfdan presents Harald to Egil. Harald recruits Egil as his agent and indirectly promises to make him earl. Egil begins to infiltrate Kattegat and locate weaknesses in its defenses. As the Lothbroks gather the Great Heathen Army, they ally with them once more. As recruits from all over Scandinavia arrives in Kattegat, Harald spots Ellisif. He reacts nervously upon seeing her and his brother encourages him to talk to her. When Harald meets Ellisif in the great hall, he tells her that soon will be worthy of her, he finally cut his hair, and he will marry her. However, Ellisif confesses that she is already married to a Danish earl, a man of lower social status and fame than Harald. Harald angry reminds her that he was already a king when she refused him and is hurt by her rejecting him for a man he considers "a nobody", stating he has based his whole life around her. Meanwhile Halfdan pulls a dagger to kill her. Ellisif begs him not to, and Harald lets her go. Later Halfdan suggests that they must kill Ellisif because she has taken Harald's honor. Harald refuses and reveals that he only loves two people: Halfdan and Ellisif. Harald states he will kill all those who threaten her. As the Great Heathen Army lands in Northumbria, Harald partakes in the Battle of York. He kills Ellisif's husband, Earl Vik, to avenge the offense that he has resented. He makes briefly love with Ellisif, but when she tries to kill him to avenge her husband's death, Halfdan kills her. Harald is left distraught by Ellisif's attempt to kill him and to have lost the only woman that he has ever loved. Later, he partakes in the Battle of Repton, as Aethelwulf's forces are crushed. Personality and traits Harald is very outspoken and charismatic, making Aslaug smile soon after arriving in Kattegat. He befriends her sons as well and seems to be very popular among them, excluding Bjorn, who distrusts him. He will constantly try getting close to Floki and outdistancing him from Ragnar, taking advantage of the quarrel of the King and his boatbuilder. Harald also has great ambitions, often stating that he wants to become king of all Norway, despite the fact that it would cause a dispute with Ragnar. He is more dominant when compared to his brother Halfdan, though the two get along very well, being very close together. Unlike Halfdan, he is more controlled by his emotions. At the same time, he is louder and more boisterous than his brother. Harald's extreme hatred of the Christians brings him to commit horrible acts against them when raiding, including rape and torture. Despite his ambitious and leading character, he is able to admit that Ragnar is a powerful king and a better strategist than himself. He also seems to have genuine feelings for Ellisif, refusing to harm her when she has dishonored him in the eyes of others. Harald is a relentless and very skilled warrior, always in the front lines. Trivia * Harald Finehair/Fairhair (Old Norse: Harfagra) was the son of Halfdan the Black (Haldanr Svarti), who, like Ragnar Lothbrok, was a descendant of the Yngling Dynasty. This would make him a descendant of Freyr. * Before he unified Norway, Harald ruled over the petty kingdom of Vestfold in southern Norway. * The name of the woman whose hand Harald sought in marriage was Gyda, daughter of King Eirik of Hordaland in central Norway. * Harald was the father of over 20 sons, among them Haakon the Good (king of Norway) and Eirik Bloodaxe (King of Norway and Northumbria). * Peter Franzén who plays Harald, previously appeared as a Viking in HBO's True Blood, playing opposite Alexander Skarsgård, Gustaf Skarsgård's (Floki) brother. * Harald's warcry is a quote from Hávamál: Heilir hildar til, Heilir hildi frá, Koma þeir heilir hvaðan - Whole into battle, Whole from battle, Coming whole from there hence. * The song Harald likes to sing is a song written by Icelandic poet and Viking Egill Skallagrímsson, who was contemporary with Harald's son Eirik. Thus it's an anachronism. * In the sagas, Harald is described as the grandson or alternatively great-great-grandson of Sigurd and King Aelle's daughter Blæja. Appearances fr:Harald Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Viking Warriors Category:Kings